The advent of electronic lock systems has revolutionized the hotel industry by offering a safe and efficient way of controlling access to hotel rooms. Typical electronic lock systems function with electronic key cards and are controlled by computer systems. Upon checking in at the front desk of the hotel and being assigned a room, a customer is given an electronic key corresponding to the electronic lock securing access to the room. Electronic key cards have attached magnetic strips that are coded by the computers at the hotel check-in desk. The encoding on each key is such that the key functions only on a specific hotel room door. New keys with new codes are created for each room after the departure of each guest. The code from the previous use is erased by the computer, a new pattern is magnetically encoded on the key and the door lock is programmed to recognize the new code.
While prior art electronic lock systems offer many advantages over traditional key systems, they still suffer from significant drawbacks both for the hotels and for their guests. Customers arriving at a hotel are still required to check in at the front desk in order to be assigned a room and given the key. Many times, they are faced with long line-ups or staff unavailability, which decrease their satisfaction and minimize the chances of repeat business. For the hotel, adequate check in service and staff availability are very costly.
There exists therefore a need for a system and a method that would allow guests to arrive at a hotel and go straight to their room without having to use the services and the keys provided at the front desk.
Furthermore, the security issue arises for certain customers using the electronic keys provided by the hotel. The electronic key is impersonal and does not contain information that would make it work only for a unique authorized user. In the case in which a key is lost, the front desk can provide another one upon request, which makes the system prone to fraud and abuse. Customers therefore do not feel that they themselves or their belongings are safe at all times. Hotels are forced to increase security measures in other ways, for example by using video cameras for lobby surveillance and by stiffening identification requirements for obtaining keys.
There exists therefore a need for a system and a method allowing user specific information to be used for providing access to a hotel room.